A Summer of Chaos: A Big Bang Theory Story
by catluver9999
Summary: Penny decides to take a job working as a counselor at a Girl Scout camp. Will Leonard be able to handle his girlfriend being away from him for three months, or will his neediness drive Penny away?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Penny's heart was racing, as she waved good-bye to her boyfriend, Leonard, who had just dropped her off at Camp Woodledge, a camp in Cleveland, Ohio, for both Boy and Girl Scouts. She had accepted a job as a camp counselor there. This would be her home sweet home for the next three months.

_Well, at least this will be better than waitressing at The Cheesecake Factory._ She thought to herself as she dragged her luggage to her assigned campsite, Maple Forest.

She headed over to the counselors cabin, which looked more like a five-star hotel room than anything you'd expect to see at a Girl Scout camp. The cabin had bunk beds, a flat-screen HD TV, a ceiling fan, and electricity. And there was even a mini-fridge stocked with various non-alcoholic beverages. This was going to be heaven.

"This place is amazing!" Penny exclaimed.

"I know! It's unbelievable!" one of the other counselors commented.

"I'm Emily," the girl said, "What's your name?"

"I'm Penny." She answered.

"I like that name. I have a younger sister named Penny. Is this your first summer working here?"

"Yeah, it is," Penny responded.

"That's cool. This is my 4th year as a counselor here. What made you decide to come here?"

"Well," Penny replied, "I was a waitress at The Cheesecake Factory in L.A. But I made almost no money. And I also wanted a break from the dreadful heat."

"Oh, wow, that sounds crappy," Emily responded.

Penny nodded her head in agreement, as the two girls made their way to the pavilion, where the other counselors and the campers were gathered. The counselors all picked out funny camp names for themselves. Penny decided on "Lenny", a combination of her and Leonard's names.

The other three counselors in her group were Emily (Bubbles), Simone (Ocean), and Meg (Nutmeg).

The counselors and the girls headed over to the pool, where the girls all took the swimming test. Penny chuckled as she watched the girls take the swimming test. It was pretty ridiculous. They had to do 10 jumping jacks in the shallow end, swim the front crawl in the middle end, and finally in the deep end, they had to sing the song "Jingle Bells" while treading water. When the girls were done with the swimming test, everyone headed over to the dining hall, for dinner, which was taco pizza and salad.

Dessert was frozen yogurt, and they had a table filled with an assortment of toppings for people to mix into their treats. The group Penny was with was called Coaster Heroes. It was for girls and boys in grades 8 through 12. The group would be going to Kings island. Penny thought that was fun because she liked amusement parks. She had brought along a souvenir photo of her, Leonard, Howard, and Bernadette on one of the roller coasters at Disneyland, to place by her bedside. She sighed as she gazed longingly at the photo of her and her friends, and drifted off to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

_Greetings, Big Bang fans!_

_Here is my second chapter. I may not have as much time this week, because I purposely asked for more hours at work. I like my job, and that takes first priority. I'll try to update though, when I get a chance. Thanks for bearing with me here! Review if you'd like me to continue!_

_P.S. Who's excited for season 7?_

Penny was awakened by the sound of her phone buzzing. She had 3 texts, several missed calls, and a voicemail message, all from Leonard. She checked her watch. It was only 3 A.M., obviously NOT an appropriate time to be texting.

She reluctantly read the texts from Leonard:

_Hey, sweetie, I miss you so much. It's just not the same here without you. I wrote you a letter. It should arrive in 2 or 3 days. XOXO_

_~Leonard~_

_How is camp going so far? Have you made any new friends? Promise me you won't get involved with any other guys. Okay?_

_~Leonard~_

_Penny? Are you mad at me?_

_~Leonard~_

She deleted all 3 texts, turned off her phone, and went back to sleep.

She wished her possessive, needy boyfriend would leave her alone and get over his trust issues.

The next morning, Penny and the other counselors, and the campers woke to the sound of the camp bell. Today, the Coaster Heroes would be going to Cedar Point and staying overnight at one of the resorts there. She purposely left her phone behind at camp, and headed off to Cedar Point with the rest of the group. She wasn't going to let Leonard ruin her fun.

When the group arrived at Cedar Point, they split up into two groups. The people who wanted to ride all the crazy roller coasters were in one group, and the people who weren't as into roller coasters were in the other group. There were two girl counselors and two guy counselors with each group.

"Hey," one of the guy counselors said, walking over to Penny. "I'm Tigger…well, Tigger is my camp name. My real name is Ryan. What's your name?"

"My name is Penny," she answered, "but my camp name is Lenny."

"That's cute, I like that," Ryan said as he grabbed Penny's hand. "You're beautiful, and smart, and everything I've ever wanted in a girl." He added.

Penny's heart skipped a beat. _Is this guy trying to flirt with me?_ She thought to herself. _I have a boyfriend already. I should probably tell him that._

But it was too late. She was already starting to fall in love with Ryan. She knew cheating was wrong. But this guy seemed more caring, and less pushy and needy than Leonard.

Penny and Ryan rode the Top Thrill Dragster, the Mean Streak, and a few of the other roller coasters. And then Ryan bought her an ice cream sundae, topped with chocolate syrup, whipped cream, and sprinkles.

"I really like you." Penny said to Ryan, as they were watching the sun set and walking along the beach.

"I like you too." Ryan said, as he leaned over to kiss Penny on the cheek. Her heart fluttered.

That night, after the group had checked into their hotel room, Penny wrote a letter to Leonard. She knew he would be mad if she didn't write to him at all.

_Dear Leonard,_

_How are you doing? I'm doing fine. The group I am in charge of this week is the Coaster Heroes. I've met some nice people, and the kids in the group are all well-behaved._

_I met a cute guy, Ryan. And he seems nice. Don't worry, though. We're just friends. Nothing is going on between us._

_I miss you and hope to hear from you soon._

_Love,_

_Penny_

She turned off the nightlight, closed her eyes, and drifted peacefully off to sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The next morning, Penny awoke and found a folded piece of paper under the door. She picked it up and read it:

_Dear Penny,_

_Last night was amazing. Here's my number if you'd like to call me sometime: 216-123-4567._

_XOXO_

_~Ryan~_

Penny smiled to herself as she put the note in her pocket.

After a quick breakfast, the group piled into the camp van and drove away. Penny and Ryan snuggled up against each other during the entire ride back to camp.

When they got back to the campsite, Penny plopped onto her bed and quickly checked her phone. She had 10 missed calls and about 25 texts, all from Leonard. Beyond frustrated, Penny quickly stepped outside to call Bernadette. She picked up on the first ring.

"Penny, sweetie, are you okay?" She asked, sounding panicked.

"No, I'm not okay!" Penny replied, sobbing uncontrollably.

"I'm sorry to hear that. What's bothering you?" asked Bernadette.

"Leonard has been pestering me to no end with texts and phone calls! He's being overly clingy and possessive, and it's driving me insane!" Penny angrily shouted.

"That would get on my nerves too," admitted Bernadette. "What are you going to do?"

"Well," Penny sighed, "What I'd like to do is break up with him, but I know that would piss him off to no end. And plus, I met this cute guy, Ryan. He's one of the other counselors who works at the camp."

"Ooh, you naughty girl," Bernadette said, laughing heartily. "You know, you're allowed to break up with Leonard if you want to. Besides, he's going to find out about this other guy eventually."

"True," Penny replied, "I guess I probably should tell Leonard." She said good-bye to Bernadette and went back inside the cabin. She quickly texted Leonard:

_I think we should take a break for awhile._

_~Penny~_

Within a minute, he texted back.

_Why?_

_~Leonard~_

Penny typed back:

_I just think we should. Do I have to give you a reason?_

_~Penny~_

_You've been seeing another guy, haven't you!_

_~Leonard~_

Penny didn't respond.

_Are you cheating on me?_

_~Leonard~_

She ignored that message too. He had already found out she was cheating on him. But Penny was too tired to care. After all, Leonard had kind of cheated on her with Sheldon's female assistant, Alex. This was Penny's way of getting revenge on Leonard.

Penny got out her stationery and wrote a quick note to Bernadette:

_Dear Bernadette,_

_Leonard found out. I don't know how, but he found out. You and Amy should come and visit me some weekend. I miss you both very much!_

_Sincerely,_

_Penny_

Just as she was about to doze off for the night, there was a knock on the door. It was one of the campers, Samantha. "Come in." Penny responded.

"Can I talk to you for a minute?" Samantha asked, looking directly at Penny.

"Sure. Is everything okay?" Penny asked.

"My boyfriend broke up with me!" the girl answered, sobbing.

Penny wasn't really in the mood to talk about relationship troubles, given that she had just dumped her boyfriend.

She responded after a minute saying, "Well, if it makes you feel any better, I've been dumped many times. And while it may feel like the end of the world, you'll move on eventually. You deserve someone who will love you, flaws and all."

"Thanks," the girl said, forcing a smile.

"You're welcome. Would it help you to sleep with us in the counselors' cabin?" Penny offered.

"Sure," Samantha said, giving Penny a big hug.

She helped Samantha set up her sleeping bag


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Penny awoke again to the sound of her phone buzzing.

She groaned, hoping it wasn't Leonard. She looked at her phone to see what it was. She had received a friend request on Facebook from Ryan Johnson, her new boyfriend at camp. She logged onto her Facebook page and accepted it.

There was also a message from him too:

_Dear Penny,_

_I know we just met only a day ago, but would you like to be my girlfriend?_

_Love,_

_Ryan_

_P.S. It's okay if you say no. I don't want to rush you._

Penny sent Ryan a quick text message.

_Hey. I just read your Facebook message. Umm, wow! I'd love to be your girlfriend!_

_~Penny~_

Within seconds, Ryan texted her back.

_Great, that's fantastic! You seem hesitant though. Is something wrong?_

_~Ryan~_

Penny sighed, as she texted him back.

_You wouldn't understand. It's a long story._

_~Penny~_

_It's okay. I have time. Would you like me to come over so we can talk in person?_

_~Ryan~_

_Okay._

_~Penny~_

_Cool. I'll be over shortly._

_~Ryan~_

Within two minutes, Ryan was at the door.

The two of them went outside where they could have some privacy. As they walked along the shaded path to the dining hall, Penny explained to Ryan about how Leonard was being overly needy and pushy, and about how Sheldon's female assistant, Alex tried to hit on him.

Ryan nodded sympathetically, and said to Penny, "It's okay. I've had experiences like that too. Usually I'm the pushy one. But one time, I actually had to tell a girlfriend of mine to slow things down. She wanted us to move in together, but I wasn't ready for that."

"Wow. Well, thanks for being understanding about my situation with Leonard." Penny replied, as she gave Ryan a kiss on the cheek.

She knew that she had been harsh toward Leonard, but she didn't really care. She had a wonderful boyfriend who wasn't being too pushy. Penny smiled to herself at that thought.

This was definitely going to be the summer of Penny.


	5. Note to my Readers

Dear Readers:

I apologize for my lack of updating on my story. I've been pretty busy with work, given that it's Labor Day weekend, so I've pretty much had no time at all to work on my story. Writing out a chapter of a story in a hurry is never a good idea, because your story might end up sounding crappy. Again, my sincere apologies on the lack of updates. I promise I will try to update when I have the time, and the energy.

Sincerely,

Catluver9999


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